1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an agent for the prevention or alleviation of allergy symptoms comprising as an effective component a dioxabycyclo3.3.0!octane derivative, to a food product with an effect of preventing or alleviating allergy symptoms comprising a dioxabycyclo3.3.0!octane derivative or an extract whose main component is said derivative, and to a method for producing the same.
The present invention also relates to an agent for the prevention or alleviation of allergy symptoms comprising as effective components a dioxabycyclo3.3.0!octane derivative and an antioxidant, to a food product with an effect of preventing or alleviating allergy symptoms comprising both a dioxabycyclo3.3.0!octane derivative or an extract whose main component is said derivative and an antioxidant, and to a method for producing the same.
2. Related Art
Allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic disorders and the like are believed to occur due to interference on biological tissue with the various chemical mediators released from the lungs and other organs, causing contraction of smooth muscle such as bronchial muscle and pulmonary vessels and excessive permeability of epithelial vessels. Of these chemical mediators, the most noted are histamine and SRS-A (slow-reacting release substance of anaphylaxis). In recent years, SRS-A itself has been identified as the peptide leukotrienes C.sub.4, D.sub.4 and E.sub.4 (LTC.sub.4, LTD.sub.4, LTE.sub.4), and the multifarious physiological effects and pathologic connections of these leukotrienes have been widely studied.
Furthermore, SRS-A has been implicated in relation to bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis and dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, and even ischemic diseases such as myocardial infarction, and cardial anaphylaxis, endotoxic shock, psoriasis, and the like. Consequently, much attention has been directed to the development of agents which suppress production of or act against SRS-A. In addition, with the recent increase in the number of patients with allergy symptoms such as atopic dermatitis and pollenosis, their treatment has become a matter of public concern.
However, at present it is most common to rely on symptomatic therapies, and despite the strong desire for a superior curing agent to thoroughly cure allergy symptoms, it must be said that development thereof is still far out of reach. Recently, a number of different antihistamine drugs and agents which inhibit the production of or act against SRS-A have been developed, but they are still inadequate from the point of view of side effects. Other inhibitors which are used include adrenocorticotropic hormone agents, but these often cause serious side effects in patients and thus should not be widely used as drugs.